It is that time of year again, the Peppermint Mocha is here, the Christmas blend is brewing, the Elf on the Shelf has returned and the holiday music is cranking in the stores. Best of all, beginning November 28, 2023 and running through December 31, 2023 Starbucks is bringing back their Starbucks for Life Game for the holiday season.
If you haven’t played Starbucks for Life before, here’s what you need to know. It is a fun little game where you can earn anything from bonus stars to holiday drinks to FREE STARBUCKS FOR LIFE by “collecting” pieces to complete a festive gameboard.
If you are like me and only go to Starbucks once or twice a week, winning this game might seem impossible. BUT… below I am going to give you an overview of how to play and tips on how to play for free and increase your chances of winning by 500%. It’s Easy & FREE!
Starbucks for Life is Back for 2023! Super Secret Ways to Win!
Starbucks has a variety of games throughout the year from the Starbucks Summer Game to Starbucks Starland, but the granddaddy of them all is Starbucks for Life. First things first, this year the Starbucks for Life Game will run from November 28, 2023 to December 31, 2023. Now let’s get into how to play (and win)!
1) How to Play
The game is actually very simple. Last year was all about earning the Starbucks for Life Holiday lights, this year it’s festive game pieces, but the same concept applies. Here’s how to get going:
- You have to be a Starbucks rewards member
- Sign up by going to starbucksforlife.com or via the Starbucks App
- During the promotion period, sign into your Starbucks Rewards account to receive one (1) daily gameplay.
- Follow the links and instructions to play the games: shake the snowglobe once daily to collect a game piece, earn extra plays by completing a task (loading your account, ordering ahead, treating someone, etc.), play Holiday Run to earn power-ups for the game
Shake the snow globe with me and see how to earn a game piece!
2) Earn Extra gameplays with the Starbucks for Life Challenges
As I mentioned above, you can earn some extra gameplays by doing various challenges….some of them are FREE! This is not the super secret trick, I will get to that soon.
This year is different than the past years as each week Starbucks has new challenges to do during the whole period.
Here are some of the challenges available now:
- Load up your account: Reload your Starbucks Card with at least $20 for 1 free play
- Order Ahead: Place an order on the Starbucks app five times for 1 free play
- Treat Someone: Buy two drinks in one transaction 3 times for 1 free play
- Shake It Up: Shake the snow globe 3 days in a row
- Afternoon Pick-Me-Up: Make a Starbucks purchase after 12 pm (your local time) three times for 1 free play
- and MORE!
*Important tip* Make sure to claim the play! Once each challenge is completed, make sure to sign into your account and follow the links and instructions to claim the additional play! If you are a potential winner of a prize, you will then be provided directions for validation.
3) Super Secret Way to Increase your Chances by at least 500%
Look, I love my Starbucks and would love to win Starbucks for Life, but I don’t go enough to win big. However, I have found a SUPER SECRET way I can still earn entries from all the challenges and daily entries for FREE.
There is no need to break from your normal routine to get gameplays. Here is how to do it:
- Scroll to the bottom of the page.
- At the bottom, you will see no purchase necessary and then click here to enter.
- Fill out your name and address.
- Choose the challenge you want to earn entries and click submit!
- In a minute you will receive an email saying to activate your entry and play
- You can do this for every challenge
- Plus you can do the daily entry twice a day, every day.
- You can earn over 100 gameplays for FREE!
What are the Prizes?
Now you know how to play, but what are you playing for? Like I said, there are tons of prizes. In addition to 5 people winning Starbucks for Life this year, here are some of the other epic prizes.
- Starbucks for Life (5 lucky winners this year!)
- Delta Air Lines gift card
- Moccamaster grinder and custom brewer
- Starbucks + Stanley Quencher H2.0 FlowState™ Tumbler
- A chance to win a $500 Starbucks Gift Card with every sweepstakes entry
- Bonus Stars and Starbucks Gift Cards can be won instantly by shaking the snowglobe!
What are your chances to win Starbucks for Life?
There are 5 Starbucks for life rare game pieces that will be given out during the promotion. The estimated value of winning Starbucks for Life is $64,605.00.
The odds might not be in your favor to win Starbucks for life, but I have won hundreds of bonus stars and some free drinks with my super secret method (no free Starbucks for life #sadface)! I would say that is well worth it considering it takes just a minute or two each day, less time than a Starbucks run!
Think of all the delicious Caramel Brulee Lattes that you can sip on this holiday season, and hopefully, you will win one of the big prizes, like Starbucks for a month, Starbucks for a year, or best yet Starbucks for Life! Good Luck!
You Might Also Enjoy:
- Top 7 Things to do at Knott’s Merry Farm This Holiday Season
- Girls will Flip over these Realistic Mermaid Tails this Holiday Season
- Are you a Starbucks Addict? Our friends at Board Area have some news on a STARBUCKS CREDIT CARD!
- Want to Earn Gold Status in one visit – Check this article out from Mommy Points
Pin for Later – Super Secret Ways to Win Starbucks for Life!
- A Breakdown of Disney World Costs for 2025 - May 26, 2025
- 20 Incredible Things to do in New York with Kids [+ Where to Eat & Stay] - April 10, 2025
- How Much Does a Disney Cruise Cost? + Money Saving Tips - March 28, 2025
All of the tier challenges are listed in the official rules
Thank you so much. I have updated the article to reflect all the challenges
I wish I found your article earlier. Thank you so much!!
Starbucks is being cheap asses with the prizes. 25 stars and I have played every single day since the first day. I have bought 2 coffees since then. Stop being cheap starbs!
I completely agree! Also, I can say I have never gotten a “sorry not a winner” globe (or w/any game they have), I had 4 shakes & 2 were nothing!!
The daily entry won’t let you submit because it wants you to prove that you’re not a robot, but there is no selection to do that on the screen.
That’s a bug that started just today if you try and do it on mobile. It worked yesterday just fine.
To fix it just go to Starbucksforlife.com on a desktop, the robot thing shows up fine there.
I assume they will fix the mobile bug soon.
I had that happen to me I called customer service she told me to use a different browser or perhaps a laptop. I waited a little bit longer and the ability to select I am not a robot returned. It was just a glitch on tDecember 1st I believe. I thought I was the only one thank you for saying something.
Yes there is.
Hi Kathy, Try again. I think that was a temporary glitch (box not showing to prove you’re not a robot) because it happened to me, too, but it worked later in the day.
Thanks, all!
https://www.starbucksforlife.com/#login just tells me: “This website is best viewed in portrait mode. Please rotate your phone.”
I am not on a phone. How can I play?
It’s letting me do more than two entries a day with using the no purchase necessary link. Does that mean if I do win it, they’ll see that I did more than two a day? I’m surprised it isn’t stopping me. Maybe it’s letting me do as many that would have been possible if I did two plays a day since the contest started?
I thought this too, i’m like oh cool! i’m getting extra plays! but this only happens when you use the form to get a challengée tier(have to fill out the form twice for most weeks challenges) and then the daily play option you can do two forms for that ON TOP of the tier challenges. That’s why you think you’re getting more plays but you’re all good! xx
I’m getting 5 a day you complete all the tasks and do the no purchase necessary on 2 of them, you will get 5 every night at midnight.
This is great!! Thanks for the secret tip!! You’re awesome.
Hi great article about how to play ? bucks for life . thanks so much. Allie
Impossible to win Starbucks for Life. I’m a daily purchaser K2+ yearly and can’t even get the 125 Stars. Rethinking my daily choice. To many other options out there.
The odds are a bit long in this game. I have more success in some less popular contests like Earth Month.
How can I play when I do not have a phone. I buy Starbucks all the time. Could some one tell me how I can do this before the game is over?
Linda,
If you don’t have a phone, you may try playing from any computer — yours or borrowed.
Go to https://www.starbucksforlife.com/#login
Best wishes to you!
May you win!
Did anyone else get the skis (aka rare piece) to win the Grand Prize like me? I checked my game board about a half hour later and it was gone!!! What a rip off!!! This happened this past Saturday 12/7 morning.
Haven’t won anything and I’ve played every single day and met the challenges, purchased Starbucks 1-2x a day. Not even 10 bonus stars.
I keep getting duplicate pieces and starting to believe this is a rip off.
I agree with raptorjesus, I play every day the free way, and I have gotten 25 bonus stars once. Every category on my board has two spaces filled and I can’t seem to get the third, instead I keep getting duplicates. There’s no way you have won “hundreds of stars” and free drinks. What a lie dude.
Ah, same here. Have two pieces to everything and now for the past week, it’s just been DUPLICATES EVERYDAY. Sucks!
Each area has two spaces filled for past two weeks—just getting duplicates now. Stupid game—they should call it Stockholm Syndrome.
Same. I just won the Starbucks for life coffee collection today though! Merry Christmas ? .
Me too! I even contacted them and they said everything is fine. I was winning till I filled 2 on everything. Now all I get is try again, no luck. Quite unfair.
What would be helpful to known is how many people are getting stars. What are our chances? For example, 100,000,000 stars and only 29,030 winning game pieces.
This would be a 1:3440 chance to win something.
“Ah”…. she was courteous enough to post the # of prizes per item here. If a prize is already gone, you will never be able to win it and will only get duplicates. Don’t blame the blogger, do the math. It’s a probability elimination game with literally millions of people competing for a small number of prizes. Most are probably gone in the first week bc the whales get them. The gimmick is to let the rest of think they are still there so we keep buying more coffee than normal for that off chance that we win. At least she is showing you how to do this without spending extra than you normally would.
OkI have tried all week 2 or more times a day to get a game piece.free game pieces never go to my email. Why?
You might want to check your spam folder or your settings for blocked e-mail. The longest delay I’ve experienced waiting for an e-mail was a half-hour.
I only play the free way, and so far I’ve won a total of 70 stars. I’m also missing 1 piece per row, I’m thinking the winners already got all 3 pieces at the start of the game. At this point I’m just playing to score stars to redeem free drinks that way lol.
I clicked this hoping there was some secret way to play & up my chances, oh well. Good luck everyone!
Well, after playing all available opportunities so far, have only gotten one instant prize 10 points and a board full of two game pieces out of three. Last year, got maybe 140 bonus points as an instant prize. This is the most pitiful waste of time yet. Don’t think I’ll bother with future Starbucks contests.
You might want to check your spam folder or your settings for blocked e-mail. The longest delay I’ve experienced waiting for an e-mail was a half-hour.
This wasn’t a super secret
Just my personal opinion here, but try playing your game pieces at different times during the day. Whatever random algorithm Starbucks is using to award prizes is based upon time of day.
Just a guess… YMMV
I agree with other comments. In the first week I had 2 pieces filled in every section. For the past 2 weeks I’ve played daily and have won a total of 10 stars. Every single play is a duplicate. This game is just another (brilliant) marketing ploy from a huge business. And yes, I got sucked in thinking I had a chance when I had all those spaces filled early on … just like every other player. 🙁
Hi! I read the T&Cs this year and it states that we are limited to 20 bonus entries of any kind this round. That means we can’t collect two bonus entries a day, every day – just some days. Can you clarify this? And also whether the weekly quests count as bonus entries? Those will add up to 20 quickly!
Hi there! Thanks for the tips for this Starbucks promotion. I am not able to find the area for the 2 free plays per day. Is it supposed to be on the Gameboard page or the challenges page? I am not seeing the snow globe at the bottom. Do I have to make a purchase first to have access to it? Thanks!
It is located on the bottom of the gameboard with your game pieces. You do not need to make a purchase.
What are the rare pieces this year?
If you tap the link at the bottom that says official rules and then scroll down there to where it say bonus turns, it says that you can complete the challenges. But, under that section it says you can also win bonus turns without purchase by visiting the promotional site and follow the links. I tried. Can’t figure it out. Can you?
Game Prizes Starbucks For life 2020 Rare Pieces Number Of Rare Game Pieces
Starbucks for 1 Year Mittens 15
Starbucks for 6 Months Mail 50
Starbucks for 3 Months Candy Canes 75
Starbucks for 1 Month Milk and Cookies 100
How do you get anything when it says download (after 5 mobile orders). It does nothing when when you tap download.
I have made multiple purchases and never got plays for them. What are the “qualifying purchases”? I only get to play with the free daily plays.
Hi and Thanks for the info!
Although, I’m not sure how you’re getting the “No purchase necessary” bonus plays? when I click this link it goes to a page that says” we’re sorry you have already completed this challenge or you have already clicked this link from your email. Not entirely sure what that means…? But I try again every.single.day. at least twice and I get the same message! What am I doing wrong?? TIA
Does anyone know how many instant wins you can get?? I’ve gotten 4 so far.
So messed up!! I won 50 stars, then was told I didn’t qualify for them!! Why is it I only qualify for the “No Winner’s??) After having my debit card drained by two coffee shops in China, (after using it at our local Starbucks) and this waste of time game, I’m about Done with Starbucks!!
Hi, where do you get the tiers & what week they are on? Can’t seem to find it. How do I know what challenge I’m supposed to do?